Tracktion 6 is now freeware

[Luc]

Version 6 of the Tracktion DAW is now free:

https://www.tracktion.com/products/t6-daw

It's the DAW I use. Sometimes it will crash even if you look at it the wrong way, but apart from that, it is an absolutely remarkable piece of software. Yes, it is worth having it.

[fruen]

yes it crashes alot

[Veerstryngh Thynner]

Hello all,

Please clarify something, if you would. Well, a few things, actually - if you could.

I need to overhaul my currently totally dysfunctional home studio. I have devised several approaches, but haven't made up my mind yet. Therefore, I'm still shopping around a bit.

I have been looking at NON (modular DAW), in first instance. But on another forum I visit someone recommended Tracktion. So I had a look - and it seems much more user-friendly, somehow.

What I wish to do:

Playing and recording traditional mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 samples of various guitar-like instruments. I want to use one of my guitars as MIDI controller.

Best (= stable) Linux Traction version:

- I just read (on KVR, I think, that Tracktion 5 & 6 are NOT available for Linux. Only Tracktion v.4, KVR says. So excuse my confusion, but what, actually, is the/a stable Linux Tracktion version?
- Has anyone tried proprietary Tracktion 5 and/or 6 in WineAsio?

Audio Interface

- Has anyone experience with Behringer UCG102 Guitar Link, in Linux Tracktion?
- Has anyone experience with Behringer UMC22, in Linux Tracktion?
- Has anyone experience with Focusrite Scarlett (Solo), in Linux Tracktion?

If yes:

- Does Linux Tracktion recognise Behringer UCG102?
- Does Linux Tracktion recognise Behringer UMC22?
- Does Linux Tracktion recognise Focusrite Scarlett (Solo)?

If yes:
- How are these audio interfaces activated, in Linux Tracktion?

- Samples

Does Linux Tracktion accept and support mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 musical instrument sample? And, possibly, the .nki format (Kontakt)?

guitar --> audio interface MIDI signal --> musical instrument sample audio

- Audio interfaces transform anologue signal (guitar, in this case) to MIDI (in order to reproduce musical instrument sample), via the physical guitar instrument "MIDI controller". How to create a path from MIDI signal, as emanating from the audio interface, to mp3/wav/sfz/sf2 sample audio reproduction, in Linux Traction?

System details:

- My platform is KDE Mint 17.1

Thank you very much for any help you can give.

Veerstryngh Thynner

PS: I have discovered the Tracktion video tutorial series, on YouTube. These are addressing Windows & Mac OS users exclusively: Linux not mentioned even once.

I trust there will be some differences between proprietary and Linux versions, so I prefer to hear from Linux users first what these are like.

[sysrqer]

All recent versions of Tracktion are available for linux.

[Veerstryngh Thynner]

And which one is the most stable, in your opinion?

Veerstryngh Thynner

[sysrqer]

The latest I would imagine, I don't really use it.
Try the demo of the latest version and see how it performs for you.

[funkmuscle]

won't even launch.. gets to the setup session but nothing is displayed. only how I know it at the 'setup session' is because it shows up on the docking bar.

[Luc]

I want to use one of my guitars as MIDI controller.

You would need some special, dedicated plugin for that. I'm not sure which.

- I just read (on KVR, I think, that Tracktion 5 & 6 are NOT available for Linux.

All versions are available on Linux. I've had Tracktion 6 for more than one year.

Has anyone tried proprietary Tracktion 5 and/or 6 in WineAsio?

You only need WineAsio for running some - not all - Windows plugins.

How are these audio interfaces activated, in Linux Tracktion?

In the configuration session. It's really simple.

Does Linux Tracktion accept and support mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 musical instrument sample? And, possibly, the .nki format (Kontakt)?

mp3 and wav, yes. For sfz and sf2, you need some plugin, kind of a sampler.
Kontakt is made for Windows. I've tried it and it didn't run at all for me, but there are reports of people who have been successful.

Audio interfaces transform anologue signal (guitar, in this case) to MIDI

To MIDI? No, they don't do that. Audio interfaces convert analogue signal into digital, i.e. something (an internal representation) that is like wav or mp3, but neither really. You choose wav or mp3 when you export the song or track. But you get sound, not MIDI. Converting sound to MIDI is hard.

I have discovered the Tracktion video tutorial series, on YouTube. These are addressing Windows & Mac OS users exclusively: Linux not mentioned even once.

Don't worry about that. I've seen many of those videos, it's exactly the same as in Linux. It's the same software.

[Veerstryngh Thynner]

Hi Luc,

Thanks very much for your clarification.

Quick question nothing to do with Tracktion: I wonder if you might be from Belgium or France. I'm asking because of the spelling of your name.

And now to business.

I want to use one of my guitars as MIDI controller.

You would need some special, dedicated plugin for that. I'm not sure which.

I'm not a great fan of plug-ins, generally speaking, and usually try to use as few as possible. But if I'd indeed need a dedicated plug, would that be a Traction one specifically, or something completely else altogether?

I just read (on KVR, I think, that Tracktion 5 & 6 are NOT available for Linux.

All versions are available on Linux. I've had Tracktion 6 for more than one year.

Yes, I remember that. But I think you (or someone else) also wrote that Tracktion 6 crashes all the time. That's why I asked for an opinion on the most stable Tracktion release available.

I have had a bit of history with music production applications crashing at the most inopportune of times and, sometimes, losing work with it. However, it's not only music production applications behaving like that, unfortunately.

Several months ago I switched to KDE Mint 18.0. All seemed to go smoothly, for a couple of days. But then booting up became really shaky, internet connection crashed out every three minutes, Audio manager disappeared overnight, just like that, screen plus mouse arrow froze, all of a sudden - and more in that vein. And all that only stopped once KDE Mint 18.0 had been replaced with KDE Mint 17.3.

If the latest in KDE Mint, 18.0 most definitely is also the very wobbliest. But 17.3 has been known as KDE Mint's most reliably stable release. I'm hoping for something similar in Tracktion 1-5. If Tracktion 6 collapses every three minutes, it will be of no use whatsoever to me. Therefore, if Tracktion 5, or even Tracktion 4, is indeed reliably stable, according to prior LM forum experience, I most certainly like to be informed of that.

How are these audio interfaces activated, in Linux Tracktion?

In the configuration session. It's really simple.

With Jack? Carla? Non Session Manager? Please elaborate.

Does Linux Tracktion accept and support mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 musical instrument sample? And, possibly, the .nki format (Kontakt)?

mp3 and wav, yes. For sfz and sf2, you need some plugin, kind of a sampler.

If push comes to shove, some manner of converting sfz and sf2 to wav seems to be in existence - albeit not in Linux, as far as I know.

Kontakt is made for Windows. I've tried it and it didn't run at all for me, but there are reports of people who have been successful.

A chance exists that sample from Kontakt 1-4 (.nki ) can also be converted, theoretically. I downloaded the application that claims to do that, a couple of days ago, but haven't yet put it to the test.

Audio interfaces transform anologue signal (guitar, in this case) to MIDI

To MIDI? No, they don't do that.

Ah! But that's what I always thought....

Audio interfaces convert analogue signal into digital, i.e. something (an internal representation) that is like wav or mp3, but neither really. You choose wav or mp3 when you export the song or track. But you get sound, not MIDI. Converting sound to MIDI is hard.

My assumption was that audio interfaces are working the other way around: MIDI converted to sound. So if what emanates from the audio interface output is something in-between wav and mp3, then a guitar "MIDI controller" should potentialy be able to reproduce at least mp3 and wav sample, wouldn't you think, when played through that audio interface?!

I have discovered the Tracktion video tutorial series, on YouTube. These are addressing Windows & Mac OS users exclusively: Linux not mentioned even once.

Don't worry about that. I've seen many of those videos, it's exactly the same as in Linux. It's the same software.

I have so far only watched the Introduction and the tutorial about installation, but I'm going to sit down for the rest of the series tonight.

Thanks very much once again, Luc, for kindly thinking along.

Veerstryngh Thynner

[sysrqer]

The newest (non free) version is the stablest that I've tried.

[Luc]

My nick is just an Internet nick I've been using for a long time. Not my real name.

"How to use a guitar as MIDI controller."

I don't know. I know there are people who do that, but I don't know how they do it. I believe you'd need a plugin that can "understand" the notes and convert them into MIDI. I don't think that exists in Linux. But honestly, I don't know. I would have to google, and you can do that yourself. Hopefully, someone in this forum knows how to do it and will help you. Sorry.

"Tracktion 6 crashes all the time."

Boy, does it crash all the time. Even worse, every time it crashes, JACK gets locked up and I have to restart it, or else Tracktion will not run anymore (other applications will, though).
I have scripts and keyboard shortcuts for that kind of tedious operation, but it's still tedious.
I also save my work all the time, like 10x a minute. Whenever it crashes, I don't lose much. But I already have that habit in pretty much any program. Whatever I use, I'm always saving and saving and saving. Computers can't be trusted.

Several months ago I switched to KDE Mint 18.0.

I dislike KDE. I think it's too heavy on resources for no benefit. I use Openbox, which is very light and fast and veeeery configurable. Pure joy.

How are these audio interfaces activated, in Linux Tracktion?
In the configuration session. It's really simple.
With Jack? Carla? Non Session Manager? Please elaborate.

Well, there are many ways to skin a cat and manage audio in Linux. I like to use Cadence for that.
I click the "Configure" button, then the "Driver" tab and select my USB interface on the very first drop-down box.


Then I click OK and the buttons "Stop" and "Start" to restart JACK.

On Tracktion 6, I just click the "Settings" tab, then the first section, "Audio Devices".
In that section, I select "JACK" on "Audio device type", "Output" > system and "Input" > system.


That's it, it just works.

Additionally, note that every track on the Editor screen has its name on the far left (Track 1, Track 2, etc.) and some kind of fat, empty arrow. Click that arrow and you shall see many possible inputs. Play with those a little.

Does Linux Tracktion accept and support mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 musical instrument sample? And, possibly, the .nki format (Kontakt)?

You need a sampler for that. Tracktion has its own sampler, but I don't like it. The one I use is a Windows plugin called Shortcircuit:
http://vemberaudio.se/shortcircuit.php

There are Linux samplers, too. But I don't know how to use them. For example, the (in)famous linuxsampler doesn't have a GUI, so I've never managed to use it. (shrug)

My assumption was that audio interfaces are working the other way around: MIDI converted to sound. So if what emanates from the audio interface output is something in-between wav and mp3, then a guitar "MIDI controller" should potentialy be able to reproduce at least mp3 and wav sample, wouldn't you think, when played through that audio interface?!

I honestly don't understand everything you wrote in that paragraph, but...
You must learn the difference between analog signal and digital signal.
Analog is electric. Acoustic is percussion or an unplugged acoustic guitar. If you capture that sound with a microphone or use any cable (e.g. a guitar/amp) then it's electric.
The computer still can handle neither. The computer can't "hear" like we do. The computer can only handle digital.
Sound cards can handle electric (analog) signal and convert it into digital for the computer. After conversion, it's no longer sound or signal. It's data. It's what computers slice, chop, cook and eat.
Audio interfaces are like glorified sound cards, with more features and technical capability. They convert electric into digital and send that digital signal to the computer so you can work on it. But none of that is MIDI. MIDI is a very different animal.

Thanks very much once again, Luc, for kindly thinking along.

That's what forums are for. Come back here and shout if you need help again.

[glowrak guy]

qsampler is one gui for linuxsampler, Jsampler is another, and it's Fantasia skin
is another option. Shortcircuit has been quite a workhorse over the years.
Cheers

[Luc]

Shortcircuit has been quite a workhorse over the years.

I suppose you use v1.1.2, right? Version 2 never worked for me, I can't make it find any sample file. Apparently, it only finds Windows shortcuts inside a directory and Linux symlinks do not work.

[Veerstryngh Thynner]

Hi Luc,

Many thanks for your extensive comeback. And let's start my reply to the points you brought forward with this:

Veerstryngh Thynner wrote:
"How to use a guitar as MIDI controller".

I don't know. I know there are people who do that, but I don't know how they do it. I believe you'd need a plugin that can "understand" the notes and convert them into MIDI. I don't think that exists in Linux. But honestly, I don't know. I would have to google, and you can do that yourself. Hopefully, someone in this forum knows how to do it and will help you. Sorry.

Don't worry. That's quite all right.

I spent a few hours - until deep into the wee morning, in fact - watching the Tracktion tutorial video series (as I wrote I would). Most illuminating, I must say. Although I skipped some of the MIDI stuff. But that sitting also clarified a couple of things for me. As to how to use a guitar as MIDI controller in particular.

That night it dawned on me that I already possess most of what I need to do exactly that: mp3-, wav-, sfz- and sf2 musical instrument sample and a functioning audio interface substitute. Normally, a piano key MIDI controller "reads" mp3-, wav-, sfz- and sf2 musical instrument sample and triggers the audio information encased in there. Subsequently, that audio information thus released is "translated" into sound reproduction over headset or monitors.

Please bear with me for a little wile longer now...

My assumption was that audio interfaces are working the other way around: MIDI converted to sound. So if what emanates from the audio interface output is something in-between wav and mp3, then a guitar "MIDI controller" should potentialy be able to reproduce at least mp3 and wav sample, wouldn't you think, when played through that audio interface?!

I honestly don't understand everything you wrote in that paragraph, but...

You must learn the difference between analog signal and digital signal.

I apologise for any confusion caused. But in the meanwhile I DO understand the difference between analogue and digital.

The electric pulse (or whatever the right word is, for the noun after 'electric)) - of my electric guitar, for instance - goes into the "front" of the audio interface, so to speak. And out (from the "back" end, as it were) comes digital signal. Am I correct, so far?

But below is what you wrote earlier, in this discussion:

Audio interfaces convert analogue signal into digital, i.e. something (an internal representation) that is like wav or mp3, but neither really. You choose wav or mp3 when you export the song or track. But you get sound, not MIDI. Converting sound to MIDI is hard.

Now, I have a pretty good idea of what an electric pulse is and does. Especially since I almost electrocuted myself with an old radio, sometime in my teens. But of 'an internal interpretation that is like wav or mp3, but neither really, I can't make anything whatsoever. MIDI, for instance, I envisage as a series of zeroes and ones (0-s and 1-s). But with the best will of the world I'm unable to make your description "physical". Like a series of zeroes and ones does, in MIDI. A mental picture of it, if you will.

Furthermore, I know that sfz and sf2 formats are text-based. So, a piano key controller "reads" sfz and sf2 data as incorporated in textual code, right? Yet how will mp3 and wav sample formats do that then? In other words: if templates, if you will, for sfz and sf2 are text-based, in the context of sample formats, what do those for mp3 and wav "look" like? Of these I can't make any mental picture either!

Resuming: sfz, sf2, mp3, and wav formats are all called 'digital', isn't that so? Nevertheless, even though being not "real" MIDI, as you write, they'll require a MIDI controller STILL, in order to distil humanly audible musical instrument sound out of those! Do you see what I'm getting at?

But back to basics, for the moment:

Analog is electric. Acoustic is percussion or an unplugged acoustic guitar. If you capture that sound with a microphone or use any cable (e.g. a guitar/amp) then it's electric.
The computer still can handle neither. The computer can't "hear" like we do. The computer can only handle digital.
Sound cards can handle electric (analogue) signal and convert it into digital for the computer. After conversion, it's no longer sound or signal. It's data. It's what computers slice, chop, cook and eat.

Just to get this straight, in order to prevent much more naming confusion: earlier on, you used the word 'signal' in connection with both analogue and digital. But digital 'signal' is, in fact, DATA. Is that correct?

Audio interfaces are like glorified sound cards, with more features and technical capability. They convert electric into digital and send that digital signal to the computer so you can work on it. But none of that is MIDI. MIDI is a very different animal.

Q uoting myself now, so as to explain where I think our mutual confusion resides:

My assumption was that audio interfaces are working the other way around: MIDI converted to sound.

Again: analogue (= electric) comes in at the audio interface's "front". Digital (= not "real" MIDI, but still requiring "MIDI" controller triggering, for playback) emerges from its "back". So if what comes out from the "back" of an audio interface = "MIDI", then it MUST be feasible to send an analogue (= electric) signal in (as from my electric guitar) that produces a "MIDI" signal which, in turn, "unpacks" musical instrument samples and transforms these to audio waves. That, at least, was my initial understanding.

I still believe, though, that, if the incoming electric guitar signal is analogue, but processed to digital and, subsequently, taken to the audio interface's output, then it shouldn't really matter if that guitar isn't a "MIDI controller", strictly speaking. Or let's put it this way: if mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 are capable of "reading"/"interpreting" 'digital', as appearing at the audio interface output, then it should be feasible, too, to reproduce musical instrument sample audio content with an electric guitar!

Does that make sense?

How are these audio interfaces activated, in Linux Tracktion?
In the configuration session. It's really simple.

With Jack? Carla? Non Session Manager? Please elaborate.

Well, there are many ways to skin a cat and manage audio in Linux. I like to use Cadence for that.
I click the "Configure" button, then the "Driver" tab and select my USB interface on the very first drop-down box

Thanks for your clear explanation. And also for your educative screenshots!

Does Linux Tracktion accept and support mp3, wav, sfz and sf2 musical instrument sample? And, possibly, the .nki format (Kontakt)?

You need a sampler for that.

I'm under the impression now that Tracktion only accepts mp3 and wav formats. Apart from going the Linux Sampler road (QSampler one of my applications), I may be able, potentially, to convert sfz and sf2 to wav (I'm not really fond of mp3). But that'll create problems in other areas, so I'm not keen to go there.

Tracktion has its own sampler, but I don't like it.

O yes? Where, in the Tracktion screen? I must have missed it, in those video tutorials.

Come back here and shout if you need help again.

Well, does this post count as a "shout", do you think?

Veerstryngh Thynner

[Luc]

Normally, a piano key MIDI controller "reads" mp3-, wav-, sfz- and sf2 musical instrument sample and triggers the audio information encased in there. Subsequently, that audio information thus released is "translated" into sound reproduction over headset or monitors.

No. A MIDI controller doesn't "read" anything. A MIDI controller just sends... a bunch of codes. It's as dumb as a box of rocks.

In technical terms, MIDI is strictly a computer protocol, a set of rules for formatting data that is meant to be transmitted, just like FTP or HTTP.

For each piano key that you press, or button that you press, or knob or slider that you move, the MIDI controller sends a corresponding code to... some software. That's all the MIDI controller ever does. It informs the software what exact piece of the hardware has been touched or moved. It's up to the software that receives the MIDI codes to decide what to do with them.

Some of that has been agreed beforehand in generally accepted conventions. If you press a piano key, the software will probaly know that you're sending a musical note -- plus channel, duration, intensity and the obvious time (in miliseconds) at which the key was pressed -- because the MIDI code issued by a piano key is within the range of MIDI codes that represent a piano key. So it will probably know that you want to play music with that code.

That part works just like music score: channel, note, exact time, duration and intensity. Or like the paper roll in a pianola. The music sheet or the paper roll is hopelessly silent, they don't make any noise at all on their own, but they contain the information you need to reproduce the music. The music sheet or the paper roll is 100% dumb, as much as the MIDI controller. They don't "read" anything. Instead, they are read. An application will read it and know what to do with it.

The application can either read from a static MIDI file or read a stream of MIDI data in real time. Either way, it reads that dumb digital version of a music score and plays music based on it. But then it needs some kind of sound to play the music. It needs an instrument. There usually is a default instrument, but you can replace it with another you prefer. You can also replace it with samples: mp3, wav, sfz and sf2.

If you touch or move something in the MIDI controller that is NOT a piano key, the MIDI code issued will not be within the range of MIDI codes that represent a piano key, so the application will probably know it's not music, but a command. What command? That is anyone's guess. Each application will handle those differently, and you can usually configure it to do whatever you want. Sometimes, you can even configure it to treat a piano note as a command.

Your audio interface MAY send MIDI or not depending on the model. Most models don't. Most models just send audio already encoded into digital format, into bits, just like a photograph is turned into an array of pixels. That is digital audio. It's data.

Maybe your audio interface has MIDI ports, but then it's not really converting much, it's just making a bridge between your MIDI keyboard and the USB port, so if you have a keyboard that has MIDI output but no USB, you can hook it up to the audio interface via MIDI and hook the audio interface up to the computer via USB, just so you can have your USB-less keyboard send MIDI to the computer over USB. It's like a mere adapter, and it's an additional, completely separate function that has nothing to do with audio. Not all interfaces do that.

Audio interfaces convert analogue signal into digital, i.e. something (an internal representation) that is like wav or mp3, but neither really. You choose wav or mp3 when you export the song or track. But you get sound, not MIDI.

I admit that I wasn't very clear or even accurate in my words, and I apologize for that.

When I say it's "an internal representation," what I really mean is that I don't know how the software handles the digital audio (remember, it's just data/bits/sound pixels) under its hood. It has to use some format, probably wav, but I don't know what. At any rate, that is very irrelevant and you never need to know it. That is strictly the software's own business. You just need to know that the software will "render" and export that "internal representation" into other formats of your choice, usually wav or mp3.

EDIT:

Just to get this straight, in order to prevent much more naming confusion: earlier on, you used the word 'signal' in connection with both analogue and digital. But digital 'signal' is, in fact, DATA. Is that correct?

Yes. You are right and I am wrong again. Sorry.